Avion Solutions will help The Limestone County Sheriff's Office take flight, getting a bird's eye view like never before with the installation of drones into their daily operations. Sheriff Mike Blakely made a decision on Thursday to sign a $30,000 contract with Avion Solutions to train his deputies on the proper safety protocols and FAA regulations regarding unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Profits from their Sheriff's Rodeo this year gave the department the final financial push it needed to purchase the UAS, adding two more drones to its aviation unit. Having the drones will give the deputies a quick, convenient way to get an eye in the sky in all sorts of situations- anywhere from car accidents to hostage situations. “It's going to be an excellent opportunity to expand our capabilities,” the sheriff said. “This is something that's really been on the back burner the last few years, we're just now able to take advantage of it. This is something that can really save on man-hours and even save lives.”

The drones being purchased from Avion Solutions are identified as the InstantEye by the PSI tactical. These will come equipped only with a camera and electronics needed for light. These aircraft will in no way be weaponized. As far as training goes for the officers, our UAS team will not only provide the training needed to follow federal guidelines, but also provide technical support needed to keep the unmanned aircraft operational and ready to take off at a second's notice. Each officer and pilot will spend an entire 40 hour work week learning the InstantEye inside and out and become federally certified before they can officially fly the drones. Training is set to start late August. The sheriff said whenever his officers are ready, the department is going to host an open house for the public to observe the drones at work. Our team can't wait to be at that open house!

About Avion SolutionsAvion Solutions, Inc. is a certified small, employee-owned business that provides engineering, logistics, software engineering, and test & evaluation services. Avion provides technical support for all of the Army’s Program Executive Offices (PEO) for Aviation to include rotary wing, fixed wing, and unmanned aircraft project offices. As an ISO 9001:2015 certified company headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, (USA) Avion has been working with the Department of Defense and commercial clients for over 20 years.

Avion is a member of the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) and supports the FAA’s Know Before You Fly campaign, which promotes Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) safety. Avion’s UAS Program Director, Taylor Abington, also serves as a voting member on the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee (TC 20/SC 16) for unmanned aircraft, which is currently developing a globally relevant international standard for unmanned aircraft (General Specifications, Product Systems and Operational Procedures). For more information on Avion, please visitwww.avionsolutions.com/uas